Hey, it’s Norm.

Funny how a good cigar can take you back…

I was having one this past weekend, and it got me thinking about the summer I was fifteen.

I used to work at a campground and hauling garbage to a dump where black bears wandered around.

The bears never bothered me much.

But a tiger on the loose a few miles away?

That’s a different story.

I’ll explain down below.

I used to haul garbage to a dump with black bears wandering around.

They didn’t bother me much. They were looking for food, and I was dropping it off.

Sleeping in a tent after a tiger escaped nearby? That bothered me.

I was about fifteen, spending the summer working at a campground my dad co-owned near the U.S./Quebec border. I ran the store, sprayed for mosquitoes with a tractor, and hauled the garbage.

The regulars had their own little community. Everybody looked out for each other.

Visitors came in and were generally welcomed.

We’d sit around a campfire, talking, relaxing, enjoying life. Nobody expected anything from anyone. You could just sit there and be part of it.

Then one day, we got word that a tiger had escaped from the African Lion Safari a few miles away.

That night, I was in my tent thinking about everything that could go wrong.

What if I needed to go to the bathroom? Would I hear it coming? Could I actually fall asleep knowing it was out there?

Apparently, I could get used to bears at the dump. A tiger somewhere outside my tent was a different story.

They caught it the next day, about a mile away.

It never came near us. But I’d spent the night imagining that it would.

That’s the part of that summer that makes a good story. But those ordinary evenings around the campfire are worth remembering too.

Years later, sitting in cigar lounges, I found something familiar. Regulars catching up. Somebody new joining the conversation. People looking out for each other.

After roughly forty years around cigars, that’s still a big part of why I enjoy it. You settle into a chair, light up, and spend some time with whoever’s there.

Different chairs. Same easy company.

I could do without another night wondering about the tiger.

— Norm

I first tried Black Label Trading Co. after spotting their boxes in a small Austin shop. The artwork caught my attention, so I bought one.

This 6 × 54 box-pressed Toro marks ten years of Morphine. Made at Fábrica Oveja Negra in Estelí, it combines Mexican San Andrés and Ecuadorian maduro wrappers with Nicaraguan binder and filler.

The two wrappers form a subtle barber pole. So subtle, I was well into the cigar before I noticed it.

I got earth, oak, cinnamon, and black pepper early on. Black coffee and raisin came through as it burned, with the pepper staying around until the end. Rich, bold flavors, the way I like them. The strength built to medium to full.

The draw was fine, and the burn was perfect. No touch-ups. Mine lasted about an hour and forty minutes, so give yourself some time with this one.

I gave it 89/100. The U.S. launch MSRP was $13.50, though current shop prices may vary.

Would I smoke this again? Absolutely.

Read my full review: BLTC Morphine 10th Anniversary Toro review →

An empress, a cigar, and fingers too important to stain.

According to a familiar legend, Catherine the Great had her cigars wrapped in silk to keep her hands clean. Another version credits British gentlemen protecting their white gloves.

A memorable explanation for the band around your cigar. But neither story has reliable historical evidence behind it.

The better-supported account begins with a different problem: imitation Havana cigars.

In nineteenth-century Europe, Cuban cigars commanded premium prices. Other manufacturers passed their products off as Cuban, giving cigar makers a reason to make the genuine article recognizable.

Havana manufacturer Gustave Bock is commonly credited with introducing signed paper bands in the 1830s to distinguish his cigars. The precise inventor remains disputed, but identification has a stronger historical basis than the royal-fingers tale.

That little ring takes on a different meaning. It wasn’t necessarily protecting someone’s hands. It was protecting someone’s name.

The verdict: Fiction, as far as the empress story goes.

A good legend, but not established history.

A limited release from Apostate and three new Casdagli blends caught my attention this month. All four have reached U.S. retailers, though availability varies by shop.

Apostate headed to Nicaragua for this one, working with Fábrica Oveja Negra, the same factory behind this week’s Morphine. The 5½ × 48 Robusto has a Mexican San Andrés wrapper, Ecuadorian binder, and mostly Nicaraguan filler. Just 250 boxes of twenty were made.

U.S. MSRP: $20 per cigar.

Apostate Cigars

The wrapper here comes from one of the first harvests on IGM’s own farm in Costa Rica. Made at IGM, the line pairs that Costa Rican Habano Rosado wrapper with a Costa Rican binder. Five sizes give you some choice, from a 5 × 50 Robusto to a larger figurado. This is regular production.

U.S. MSRP: $16–$25.40, depending on size.

Casdagli Cigars

Zimbabwean tobacco isn’t something you see in every blend. Custodian combines it with Dominican and U.S. filler tobacco, made at Kelner Boutique Factory in the Dominican Republic. It comes in a 6 × 52 Toro and 6 × 49 Pirámide. The name refers to Sir Hudson Lowe, who guarded Napoleon during his exile.

Casdagli Cigars

The companion release takes a different direction: an Ecuadorian wrapper with Dominican binder and filler, described as mild to medium. Also made at Kelner Boutique Factory, it comes in the same Toro and Pirámide sizes. This one takes its name from Joachim Murat, Napoleon’s cavalry commander who became King of Naples.

Casdagli Cigars

Terence Reilly left his family's established cigar business to take a chance on a Nicaraguan grower with incredible tobacco but a highly confusing brand identity.

Aganorsa Leaf stands as one of the most respected and vertically integrated names in the premium cigar industry.

In this episode of the Blind Label Cigar Podcast, host Norm Farrar sits down with Terence, Aganorsa's VP of Sales and Marketing, to uncover the untold stories behind the leaf. Terence reveals how Aganorsa's owner, Eduardo Fernandez, went from building a fast-food pizza empire in Spain to bringing exiled Cuban agronomists into Nicaragua to grow world-class tobacco.

He also breaks down the psychology of the 8x80 ring gauge, the nightmare of Canada's plain packaging laws, and why modern cigar smokers need to stop chasing the Cuban hype and start trusting their own palates.

Montecristo.

Alexandre Dumas’ The Count of Monte Cristo was a favorite among the cigar rollers who listened while they worked. It inspired the brand’s name.

And there’s another connection. The Montecristo Edmundo is named after the story’s main character, Edmond Dantès.

That’s it for this week.

As always, trust your palate. The band can wait.

See you next week…

— Norm AKA The Cigar Fossil

P.S. Thursday is podcast day! Follow the Blind Label Cigar Podcast on Apple Podcasts and join us for the next episode.

P.P.S. Know someone who enjoys cigars? Send them the podcast link. I’d love to have them join us.